The U.S. administration increasingly shows that it never had a unified position on the peace plan it handed to Ukraine. One U.S. official said Trump did not take part in shaping the details. He only approved that the team had started drafting a plan. To remind, the plan was developed by U.S. Special Representative Steve Witkoff and President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, together with Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev.
When the plan first surfaced, Congress also reacted with surprise. The U.S. Secretary of State also had no idea about it for a long time.
Still, Trump keeps praising the plan.
Don’t believe it until you see it, but something good just might be happening, he wrote on Truth Social.
Disagreement Inside Trump’s Team
The Economist reports sharp disagreements between Rubio and Vance over the Ukraine plan.
Vance pushed the original hardline version. He demanded that Zelenskyy outline the terms, and his old friend — Army Secretary Driscoll — delivered this message in Kyiv.
Rubio tried to repair the situation and searched for a compromise with the Ukrainians.
Noteworthy to remind that before the 2024 presidential election, Rubio strongly supported Ukraine. After Russia seized Crimea, he criticized the Obama administration for doing too little and called for supplying weapons to Ukraine.
In March 2022, right after the full-scale invasion, Rubio said that will support the Ukrainians as long as they are willing to fight, even if it turns into an uprising.
He also used to call Putin a war criminal. Today, in contrast, his language is much softer.
Thanksgiving without a deal
U.S. officials now admit that the symbolic November 27 deadline is out of reach. According to Bild, the U.S. no longer pressures Zelenskyy to sign the plan by Thursday. Rubio said the deadlines may shift. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Peskov also announced that Russia does not plan any talks this week.
Conclusion
The administration rushed the peace plan and coordinated it poorly. It wanted to show quick progress and fulfill campaign promises. Instead, the plan exposed serious weaknesses in planning.
Russia also avoids public enthusiasm. Its leadership still follows its imperial ambitions and prefers to keep the process vague.
No one knows what changes the U.S. might introduce next, or what new terms could appear.
